Improved cotton and hay-press



B. B. ALFRED.

Cotton and Hay Press.

Patented Nov. 19,1867.

Nol 71,113.

iiifneaaeg: O/C @M N. PETERS Hula-War, Washington. D. Q

BARNABAg B. ALFRED, OF LA GRANGE, GEORGIA.- Letters Patent No. 71,113,dated November 19, 1867.

IMPROVED UOTTON AND HAY-PBBSS- digs strain tttttttt it it tignstittttuspatent nut mating act ti tip t me.

T0 ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, B-ARNABAS B. ALFRED, of La Grange, in the county ofTroup, and State of Georgia, have invented a new: and improved Cottonand Hay-Press; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawing forming part of this specification, and whichdrawing represents a longitudinal vertical section through the centre ofmy invention. i

In this invention a double-aoting sorewoperates in combination with twoslotted levers, working the followblock with great power and velocity.

In the drawing, A A represent the sills of my press, supporting at eachend two upright or inclined posts P I which are connected somewhere neartheir centre by beams B B O C is a double-acting compound screw,consisting .of two parts, the upper screwing into the lower, and thelower screwing up and down through a plate, 0, attached to the sills AAin any suitable manner, the outer threads of the two parts running inopposite directions. By this means the velocity of the screw is doubled,thelower part, as it works up and down, carrying the upper part with it,and atthe same time, by its revolutions, screwing it up and down inaddition. Th upper part 0 of the screw is securely fastened to thebottom of the prcss-box D at its centre, and, as it rises andfalls,raises or depresses thebox. From the top of the box, on each side,two stout arms E E project upward, their upper extremities embracingbetween them a slotted lever, L, connected to them by a pivot, a, Thelevers, in turn, are pivoted to the top of the posts I? 1? upon a pin,0, which is firmly fixed in theposts, and passes loosely through theslot s of the lovers. The .pin 0 thus forms a sliding pivot, sometimesoperating at one end of the slot and sometimes at the other, accordingto the position of the lovers. The inner end of each lever is hinged ati to a connecting-plate, block, orsrod, a, to the lower end of which thefollowbloc k F is attached by means of a rope, chain, or equivalentdevicefas shown at r. This completes the construction of my r Itsoperation is as follows: When the press-box is elevated by means of thescrew 0 C, the arms E E raise the inner ends of the levers L L, andcause them to lift the follow-block and when the motion of the screw isreversed, the same mechanism forces the follow-block down again,compressing the cotton, and forming the bale inside of the box; Whenthe'follower is well down in the press-box, the levers will assume theposition shown in the drawing, the pivots or fulcra c 0' working in theouter end of their slots, and the distance between the fulcra and thepoint a, where the power is applied, being greatly increased. As the boxI) is elevated, the lovers are forced outward, and the fulcra c capproach the point a. It is evident at a glance that the three points,0, a, and 1', represent respectively the fulcrum, the power, andthc'weight 0f the lover of the third form, the power being applied bythe falling and rising of the press-box, and the weight to be liftedbeing the followblock= It is further evident, that when the follower isnear the top of the press-box, thciarm c a of this lever will be shortcompared with the arm a i, and the follower will be moved with greatvelocity. It is still further evident that not only will the reverse ofthis take place, when the follower approaches the lower extremity of thepress, diminishing the velocity and increasing the power of thefollower, but, besides this, the lovers L L and connecting-blocks c eassume sucha position towardseach other as to operate together as apowerful toggle-joint lever, moving the follower with immense force. Theoperation of the device is therefore exceedingly perfect, exactlyadapting the velocity and power of the follower to the requirements ofits position in the press. v I

This press to y be used either as a portable or stationary press. Whonuscd in the latter way, the crosstimbers B B are to be attached to theupper floor of the gin-house, leaving the press-box to work up and downthrough an opening in the floor. The power is to be applied below, andthe cotton to be fed to the press above the floor. The earth must beremoved below the screw toenablc it to descend far enough to operate thepress.

When the follower is at the top of the press, one of the rods or chains2" 2' may be unhooked and the follower removed out of the way. At thesame time the blocks e e may be turned back over the ends of the levers,

now vertical, so as to be out of the way. The work of thus removing andagain replacing these parts is but of an instant.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination of tho slotted leversL L with the box D, blocks 0 c, and follower F, substantially as and forthe purposes specified.

2. The combination of the parts referred to in the foregoing claim, withthe double-acting compound screw C C, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth,

, B. B. ALFRED.

Witnesses:

A. E. Banner,

F. L. Hunennronn.

